Daily Paper Honors Black Fatherhood in New Campaign

To put it simply, Daily Paper isn’t a clothing brand; “It represents a message, a community and a global family of like-minded people who are active in fashion, music and sports,” co-founder Jefferson Osei told HYPEBEAST Magazine recently. Appropriately, the Amsterdam-based imprint has created a timely campaign ahead of Father’s Day on June 21, celebrating several like-minded black creatives who balance their careers and fatherhood.

These London-based men are all close to the Daily Paper team. Kida Kudz, Mark “SliderCuts” Maciver and Grooveguruu are showcased with intimate, yet casual, shots that highlight the father-child relationships. “While being overprotective can rob a child of the freedom to grow and carve their own path through life, too much independence can leave a child vulnerable to a world that feels geared against them,” Daily Paper explains in a statement. “This is the internal struggle faced by every father across the globe.”

Florian Joahn, who directed the campaign, proposes the imagery as a visual realization of his poem Oh Child. The photographs are a tribute to the fathers they spotlight, a paean to black representation in an overwhelmingly white fashion industry. Furthermore, their children — the beatific Enoch, Samuel, Makelo and Aroko — are styled in Daily Paper’s new clothing collection for children, suited up in genderless tees, sweatsuits and rompers designed to complement their parents’ Daily Paper goods.

Look for the kids line to launch June 19 on Daily Paper’s website, where you can also shop the SS20 offerings and Resort collection. Below, read Joahn’s Oh Child in full.

Oh Child

Oh child, strut forward
Leading into a future I can no longer fathom – Shatter

Through walls of fine glass
With the force of nativity and hope – Blind

To limitations and fences Building
bridges with no beginnings
Writing stories with no endings

Oh child, I close my eyes
To hide realities reflections

My blood is running
Pulsating only to protect you – To live

Not despite but regardless
To scream of excitement not fear

Oh child, be the inspiration
Guide us along the way from protection to freedom